Adjustable golf club



Oct. 4,1927.

w. R. COLLINS ADJUSTABLE GOLF CLUB Filed Aug. 5, 1927,

E N R O T A Patented Oct. 4, 1927.

ed upon a supporting UNITED STATES 1,644,177 PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM B. COLLINS, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

ADJUSTABLE GOLF CLUB.

Application filed August 5, 1927. Serial No. 210,820.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in golf clubs shown in the accompanying drawings and more particularly described in the following specification-and claims.

It is wellknown that the principal difference between many of the clubs used in playing golf,such as the putter, midiron, niblick, mashie, and 'l0fter,is the angle to which the striking surface of the head of the club is presented to the ball when struck thereby.

Therefore the primary object of the present invention is to provide in a single club means whereby the angle of the head or blade may be readily and easily adjusted to take the place of any one of several clubs usually employed.

I am aware that adjustable golf clubs have been constructed heretofore, but the same are more or less objectionable, either on account of the difiiculty in making the required adjustment due to the necessity of carrying certain tools whereby the desired adjustment may be made, or that the head is not securely held in its adjusted position, or for other Well-known reasons.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive club, which may be easily adjusted without the use 01' tools-with no parts likely to become detached or lost-and in which the desired disposition of the head of the club may be read-. ily and accurately determined by reference to a graduated scale indicating the several angles corresponding with the usual angle of the heads on the clubs numerated,-or whereby an intermediate adjustment may be made which the golfer finds through practice improves his game.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby the head may be adjuststub shaft extending from the club shaft, y merely rotating the head in a counter-clockwise direction upon the shaft,the construction being such that the head is automatically and securely held at any desired degree as rotated :in contradistinction to the necessity of first manually withdrawing the head from a looking to a released osition,then manually adjusting the hea while the parts are in released relation, and under tension of a relatively powerful spring,-the head being then shifted back to locked relation upon the stub shaft of the club.

A further object of the invention is to provide a visible indicator whereby the degree of adjustment may be made to correspond with the customary angles of the various clubs previously enumerated.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention further resides in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes may be made in the precise embodiment if the invention herein disclosed without departing from the spirit of the same.

In the drawings accompanying this specification:

Figure 1 is an elevation of the lower end of a club embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a similar view of the head partly broken away and in section, showing details of construction.

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the head showing the'graduated scale and co-operating index provided on the end of the stub shaft.

Figure 4 is a sectional elevation of a modification in the construction of the club.

Figure 5 is a detail view of a removable graduated disc co-ordinatin with the index on the end of the stub shaf Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on or about line 6-6 of Figure 2.

Figure 7 is .a cross-sectional view taken on or about line 7-7 of Figure 4.

Referring now to the letters of reference placed upon the drawings: 4

A denotes the shaft of a club fitted at its lower end with a tapered shank B to which is rigidly secured a stub shaft G extending at an angle to the tapered shank.

D is an adjustable head loosely sleeved upon the stub shaft C, counterbored at one end to accommodate a spring E bearing against a shoulder d formed in the head by the counterbore.

F indicates a washer sleeved upon the stub shaft provided with an inwardly extending tongue f projecting into a peripheral groove C formed in the stub shaft to secure the washer against rotation.

G indicates an adjustable nut, tapped to receive the threaded end of the stub shaft and bearing against the washer, by adjusting which the tension of the spring E may be regulated. The head D at its outer end is provided with'a second counterbore to receive an annular gasket H upon which is placed a washer I, formed of fiber or other suitable material on which is rinted or otherwise impressed a series 0 graduations I, designed to co-ordinate with an index finger or pointer C", formed on the outer end of the stub shaft,-that the head D may be adjusted to any desired angle upon the shaft, predetermined through reference 'to the respective graduations upon the washer I. j

J denotes a glass lense covering the graduated washer I and secured against displacement in the head by a locking ring K or other suitable means.

The opposite end of the head D is formed with a plurality of ratchet teeth D adapted to interlock with like teeth B formed on the lower end of the tapered shank B. 7

It will now be apparent that upon grasping the shank B in one hand, thehead D may be rotatably adjusted by the other hand in a counter-clockwise direction-so. that the striking surface of the head may be adjusted with reference to the shaft to any desired angle, the graduations indicated on the washer I corresponding with the angles of the striking surfaces of the various clubs previously referred to.

It will also be apparent that any intermediate adjustment may be secured by rotating the head to either a greater or lesser extent.

In the modification shown in Figures 4 and 7, a sleeve L is formed with ratchet teeth L interlocking with the ratchet teeth B on the tapered shank B, the sleeve L being secured to the head by a pin L or other suitable means.

The head shown in Figures 1 and 2 is preferably constructed of high-grade tool steel in order that the ratchet teeth may withstand wear.

In the modification shown in Figures 4 and -7, a somewhat'cheaper club is provided in which the sleeve L only is formed of highgrade tool steel, that the ratchet teeth may resist wear, while the head in this case may be of relatively lower grade material.

It will be noted that in adjusting the club to meet the requirements of the golfer, it is not necessary to pull the head out of interlocking relation with the shank so that the teeth on the end of the former may be released from engagement with the teeth on the shank,and when so released to manually maintain it in said released condition against the action of the spring while adjusting the head to the position desired.

As the spring employed is necessarily one of great tension, this is a difficult thing to accomplish,and especially is this true where the club is used by a woman or child.

By the use of my invention, the golfer has only to hold the shaft in one hand while ro-' tatmg the head with the other hand in a counter-clockwise direction,the ratchet teeth thus automatically ride into and out of engagement as the head is rotated. The club may thus be locked at any degree of adjustment, the operation being exceedingly simple and can be accomplished by anyone with little effort.

By providing the end of the stub shaft with an index finger collaborating with the graduations of the washer, an adjustment of the head conforming to the strikingsurface of several clubs may be readily pre-determined. This adjustment however is capable of a further finer adjustment to suit the ideas and requirements of the golfer.

It will be obvious that in constructing a club of this description for the use of lefthand golfers, the interlocking ratchet teeth will be inclined in an opposite direction to that disclosed in the drawings.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. A golf club comprising a shaft; a shank secured thereto having a heel formed with radial ratchet-faced teeth; a stub shaft secured to the heel and projecting at an angle therefrom; an adjustable head sleeved upon the stub shaft carrying ratchet teeth adaptedto interlock with the ratchet teeth on the heel of the shank; a coiled spring sleeved upon the stub shaft adapted to bear upon the adjustable head; and a nut screwed upon the end of the stub shaft adapted to adjust the tension of the spring to force the ratchet teeth carried by the adjustable head into yieldable interlocking relation with the ratchet teeth on the heel of the shaft.

2. A golf club comprising a shaft; a shank secured thereto; a stub shaft secured to the heel of the shank projecting at an angle therefrom and threaded to receive a nut; an adjustable head loosely sleeved upon the stub shaft counterbored at its forward end to receive a spring; a coiled spring sleeved upon the stub shaft adapted to bear upon a shoulder in the adjustable head formed by the counterbore; and a nut tapped to receive the threaded end of the stub shaft adapted to adjust the tension of the spring, the abutting ends of the heel and shank being respectively formed with interlocking ratchetfaced teeth, whereby upon manually rotating the head upon the stub shaft, the head may be automatically, and alternately released and locked to the shank, until a pre-determined adjustment is effected.

3. A golf club comprising a shaft; a shank secured thereto; a stub shaft secured to the heel of the shank and projecting at an angle therefrom with its forward end threaded to receive a nut; an adjustable head loosely sleeved upon the stub shaft counterbored at its forward end to receive a spring; a coiled spring sleeved upon the stub shaft adapted to bear upon a shoulder inthe adjustable shaft, the head may be automatically and al-- ternately released, and locked to the shank, until a pre-determined adjustment is effected.

4:. A golf club comprising a shaft; a shank secured thereto; a stub shaft secured to the heel of the shank and projecting at an angle therefrom with its forward end threaded to receive a nut; an adjustable head loosely sleeved upon the stub shaft; acoiled spring sleeved upon the stub shaft adapted to bear' upon a shoulder in the adjustable head; a washer sleeved upon the stub shaft adjacent the spring, having a tongue extending into a longitudinal groove formed in the stub shaft; and a nut tapped to receive the threaded end of the stub shaft adapted to adjust the tension of the spring, the abutting ends of the adjustable head and heel of the shank being respectively.fornied with interlocking ratchet-faced teeth, whereby upon manually rotating the head upon the stub shaft the head may be automatically and alternately released and locked to the shank until a predetermined adjustment of the head is effected.

5. A golf club comprisin a shaft; a shank secured thereto having a eel formed with radial ratchet-faced teeth; a stub shaft se-' cured to and projecting at an angle from the heel of the shank carrying an index pointer at its outer end; an adjustable head sleeved upon the stub shaft carrying graduations at its forward end coordinating with the index pointer on the stub shaft, said secured theretd "havin a adjustable head having at its opposite end ratchet teeth adapted to interlock with the ratchet teeth on the heel of the shank; a coiled spring sleeved upon the stub shaft adapted to bear upon a shoulder in the adjustable head;- and anut screwedupon the end of the stub shaft adapted to adjust the tension of the" spring, whereby the ratchet teeth carried by the adjustable head may be forced automatically into yieldable interlocking relation with the ratchet teeth on the heel of the shank.

6. A golf club comprisin a shaft; a shank heel formed with radialratchetefaced teeth; a stub shaft secured to and projecting at an angle from the heeLof the shank having an index pointer at its outer end; an adjustable head sleeved upon the stub shaft having ratchet teeth at one end adapted to interlock with the ratchet teeth' on the heel of the shank; a coiled spring sleeved upon the stub shaft adapted to bear upon a shoulder in the adjustable head; a washer sleeved upon the stub shaft adjacent the spring having a tongue extending into a longitudinal groove in the stub shaft; a nut screwed upon the end of the stub shaft adapted to bear upon the washer to adjust the tension of the spring, whereby the ratchet teeth carried by the adjustable head may .be forced automatically into yieldcovering the graduated washer; and means for securing the glass lens in the adjustable head. v In testimony whereof, I sign this specification.

WILLIAM R. COLLINS. 

